St. Paul Calendar

Color: White

Old Testament: Isaiah 61:7–11
Psalm: Psalm 45:10–17; antiphon: v. 6
Epistle: Galatians 4:4–7
Gospel: Luke 1:39–55
Gospel: Luke 1:46–55
Introit: Psalm 34:2–5; antiphon: v. 1
Gradual: Psalm 45:13–14
Verse: Luke 1:46b–47

St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord
 
The Lord clothes His people “with the garments of salvation” and covers them “with the robe of righteousness” (Is. 61:10). So the blessed Virgin Mary “rejoices in God [her] Savior” (Luke 1:47). The Lord was gracious to her. She “believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). That is why “all generations will call [her] blessed” (Luke 1:42, 48); likewise, “blessed … are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). She has the unique honor of being the one from whom the Righteous One “sprouts” on earth “before all the nations” (Is. 61:11). But she sings as a recipient of His great mercy. “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–7). Mary is rightly called “Mother of God” because of the nature of the Son she bore, but He alone is called “Savior,” “Redeemer” and
“Advocate.” Jesus Christ is the “one thing … necessary,” come to rescue and heal and save us (Luke 10:28–42). He is the seed of the woman at last come to crush the serpent’s head for us (Gen. 3:15).

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Green

Old Testament: Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
Psalm: Psalm 67; antiphon: v. 5
Epistle: Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32
Gospel: Matthew 15:21–28
Introit: Psalm 28:1–2, 6–7; antiphon: v. 8
Gradual: Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.
Verse: Psalm 147:2–3

The Church Lives Under the Cross of Christ and Prays in the Hope of His Mercy
 
By her persistent prayer that Jesus would have mercy and help her (Matt. 15:22, 24), and even in the face of His initial silence and apparent rejection (Matt. 15:23–26), the Canaanite woman boldly confessed her faith in Him (Matt. 15:27–28). Her beautiful example encourages us to cling to the words and promises of the Gospel, even in the face of the Law that accuses and condemns us. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29), and His Law “has consigned all to disobedience” for the very purpose “that he may have mercy on all” (Rom. 11:32). Hence, the woman’s faith and hope were not disappointed, but her prayers were answered in the mercy of Christ. Not only does He grant us the crumbs from His table, but He also feeds us with “the children’s bread” in the house of His Father (Matt. 15:26–27). He has brought us to His “holy mountain,” and He makes us joyful in His house, where He hears our prayers and accepts our sacrifice of praise upon the altar of His cross (Is. 56:7).

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Green

Old Testament: Isaiah 51:1–6
Psalm: Psalm 138; antiphon: v. 8a
Epistle: Romans 11:33—12:8
Gospel: Matthew 16:13–20
Introit: Psalm 2:6–7; 117; antiphon: Psalm 115:18
Gradual: Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.
Verse: Ephesians 2:19b–20

The Lord Jesus Christ Is the Son of the Living God
 
Jesus asked His disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). The question is also put to us: Who do you say that He is? Flesh and blood do not reveal this to us, but by the ministry of the Gospel, the Father in heaven reveals His Son to us on earth, who has become flesh and suffered death for our salvation. Thus, we believe and confess that He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). As He died for our transgressions and was raised for our justification, He looses us from all our sins and preserves our life within His Church, against which even “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matt. 16:18–19). His salvation is forever, and His righteousness “will never be dismayed” (Is. 51:6). He comforts us with the Gospel in His Church, so that “joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song” (Is. 51:3). Therefore, “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Rom. 12:3), we also offer ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1) through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Red

Old Testament: Proverbs 3:1–8
Psalm: Psalm 121; antiphon: v. 8
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:7–10
Gospel: Luke 22:24–30
Gospel: John 1:43–51
Introit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: Psalm 119:46
Gradual: Romans 10:15b, 18b; Isaiah 52:7b, alt.
Verse: Luke 22:26b, 27d

St. Bartholomew, Apostle
 
Skinned alive! That, according to tradition, is how Bartholomew (called Nathanael in John) was martyred. Christ’s preachers are not to be great lords, but servants who faithfully stay with Christ in His trials (Luke 22:24–30). They are “jars of clay”; the Savior they preach is the “surpassing power” (2 Cor. 4:7). Christ’s servants are “afflicted in every way,” “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested” there (2 Cor. 4:8–10). On the foundation of their prophetic and apostolic confession, the Church is built, “joined together” by Christ, “the cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20–21). As an apostle (Luke 6:13–14), Bartholomew manifested “the Son of God” in his preaching and his death. Christ is the “Son of Man” — the King who opens heaven to us by His wounds (John 1:49–51). We bear sufferings not leaning “on [our] own understanding,” but trusting in the Lord (Prov. 3:5–7). Life will be manifested in our bodies, too, when the Lord brings “healing to [our] flesh and refreshment to [our] bones” in the resurrection (Prov. 3:8). For this reason, Bartholomew is often depicted holding his flayed skin. He will have need of it on the Last Day — at least for sizing.

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Red

First Reading: Revelation 6:9–11
Psalm: Psalm 71:1–8; antiphon: v. 23
Epistle: Romans 6:1–5
Gospel: Mark 6:14–29
Introit: Psalm 31:1, 3, 5; antiphon: Revelation 7:14b
Gradual: Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.
Verse: Psalm 116:15

The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
 
“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (Rom. 6:1–2). John preached the Law boldly against Herod’s adultery with Herodias. Choosing human honor over honesty, Herod served up John’s head on a platter to pacify Herodias’ conscience without the contrition and repentance of Baptism (Mark 6:17–28). So John was “slain for the word of God and for the witness [he] had borne” (Rev. 6:9). John is Christ’s forerunner also in death; other fellow servants and brothers continue to be martyrs (witnesses) of Christ to this day (Rev. 6:11). Their deaths are “precious in the sight of the Lord” (Ps. 116:15) and so also to us, who celebrate even a beheading. Such is the confidence of the baptized! “Buried therefore with him by baptism into death,” we believe “we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” also (Rom. 6:4–5). United to Christ, the Church’s Head, John can be confident that He will be reunited to His own at the Last Day. Even John isn’t really the forerunner, because Jesus has gone before us all: out of the tomb alive, the firstborn of those who sleep.

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Green

Old Testament: Jeremiah 15:15–21
Psalm: Psalm 26; antiphon: v. 8
Epistle: Romans 12:9–21
Gospel: Matthew 16:21–28
Introit: Psalm 37:5–7; antiphon: v. 4
Gradual: Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.
Verse: Matthew 16:25

The Glory of God Is the Passion and Cross of Christ Jesus
 
After St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord “began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matt. 16:21). Upon hearing this “theology of the cross,” Simon Peter stumbled into a satanic “theology of glory.” But the glory of God is revealed in the Passion and cross of His incarnate Son. The faithful prophets, such as Jeremiah, suffered persecution and rejection in anticipation of Jesus’ cross. Yet the Lord did not abandon them; He remembered them, and He was with them to deliver them (Jer. 15:15–20). By His cross, Jesus has redeemed the world, and in His resurrection, He has vindicated all who trust in Him. Thus, the Christian life is a discipleship of self-sacrificing love. Since Christ Jesus has reconciled us to God, we “live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). By the certainty of His cross and resurrection, we “rejoice in hope,” and we are “patient in tribulation” and “constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).

Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship